Have you ever been laid off from work? I have. Do you recall how it made you feel? Maybe you’ve been laid off more than once and you’ve chalked it up as just a part of life that you’ve become accustomed to. Maybe you’re a contractor and do contract work from time-to-time and you’ve never been able to ground yourself into some level of consistent employment. If you’ve experienced a lay-off or have found yourself doing intermittent work, I can now say that I know what it feels like.

In 2016 I was laid off from my place of employment and it was something that absolutely caught me by surprise. The unexpected shock and awe of the experience was something I couldn’t explain, yet it was something real and somewhat surreal. I couldn’t believe it was happening and I really didn’t know how I felt about it. My first thought to myself was what did I do to deserve this? My second thought to myself was what do I do now? But the third thought to myself was “God is in control and He’s preparing me for the next level”.

Once I was able to ground myself after the initial shock of it all, I immediately began to look at the situation as God’s providence rather than internalize the situation thinking that someone was out to get me which could cause expressions of anger, frustration, pity and blame. I recall feeling a peace about the situation and was very thankful that God saw fit to move me from one place of perceived stability to a place of wilderness, which ultimately birthed an intimacy with God I never knew before. It was this transition that caused me to see life from a different perspective. A perspective of God’s timing and faithfulness in the midst of an unknown future.

I was nine months unemployed. I never thought that I would be out of work for a considerable amount of time, but there I was, wondering if I would ever find work again. At least work that would be purposeful and allow me to use my gifts and talents. After sending out resume after resume, doors were closed and opportunities scarce. Yet, I knew that I would be okay if I just trusted God that He would open a door according to His will for my life.

During the 9 months of unemployment, I committed myself to a few things. A few things that I’ve always wanted to do, but couldn’t do it in a way that I wanted to because “life” always seemed to get in the way. So what did I want? I wanted to have uninterrupted quality time with God in prayer and the reading of His Word. I also wanted to become sensitive to God’s voice so that when He speaks, I would be able to tune-in to hear what He was saying to me. I simply wanted to go deeper in my relationship with Him. I wanted to experience God in a miraculous way and study His promises for my life. I wanted to know that God was real. Not just from a knowledge standpoint, but from an experiential standpoint, and that’s exactly what happened.

In the midst of my wilderness journey I committed myself to two activities.

In 2012, the Lord spoke to me in a dream. In the dream He told me that He wanted me to “Lift Men Up”. And today that’s exactly what I’m doing through Anthonyfisher.com. God has blessed me with the ability to communicate and connect with men. He’s also given me the ability to use technology and use my expression of design to birth my first online course. Six out of the nine months, I used what God had downloaded in my spirit to create the Brand of Man Leadership Mentorship Course.

I also committed myself to become more involved in the activities of church. In my wilderness season I knew that I needed to be in an environment that offered support, partnership, prayer and strength. I knew there was no better thing to do than to get involved in the men’s ministry at Wildwood Calvary Chapel. It was in my willingness to step out and get involved that God began to work in me. A work in me that not only produced fruit in my life, but also fruit in others. My involvement in the men’s ministry opened doors that only God could open. In six months, I was asked to lead a group of men in prayer and discuss insight from the Word of God. I was also invited to become a prayer elder and teach in the high school ministry. Six months later, I was asked and blessed with the opportunity to teach in the same men’s ministry which I was committed to be involved in. Today, I am one of a few men who teach the Word of God on rotation. I am truly blessed and honored that God is using me in this way. God’s dream for me and message to me to “lift men up” is happening today and I know it’s just the beginning of the work that God wants to continue to do in my life.

As I read the biblical stories of Joseph, Job, Moses, David, Abraham and Paul, I noticed that each of these men experienced the wilderness once or more in their life. And it’s clear that their wilderness experiences caused them to become humbled in the process. They also experienced delays in their promise, which developed spiritual character and dependency upon God for their promises to come to pass, which ultimately God used to shape them in a unique way for the work, purposes and calling they would fulfill in their life.

So what can we learn from losing a job and being in the wilderness? We can learn that God’s grace over our personal grind has more value and life altering implications than we could ever imagine. God is more intentional of His purposes for our lives than a job that can only satisfy minimal needs. We must remember that we serve a God who can open doors that no man can shut and provide in ways that are beyond our understanding. We can learn (with a proper perspective) that when we are stripped of everything; including our idols, conveniences and expectations, God is allowing this shift to take place and our response towards Him should be that of “Yes Lord, here I am. Speak! Your servant is listening”.

Okay, so what do we do?

In your wilderness and dry season of your life, recognize that God does not desire you to live in the desert forever. He desires to teach you a thing or two and wants you to draw closer to Him and become obedient to Him. In your desert, don’t complain about your current status and don’t fall back into something that’s familiar (like the Children of Israel did). Remember, the purpose of the desert is to move you from where you are to where God wants to take you. Surrender your thoughts, ideas, expectations and fears for His guidance, protection, peace and love.

“Do not remember the former things, Nor consider the things of old.Behold, I will do a new thing, Now it shall spring forth;Shall you not know it? I will even make a road in the wildernessAnd rivers in the desert. Isaiah 43: 18-19

I believe each of us have themes in our life that need to be noticed. We often don’t see or recognize our themes simply because we aren’t listening and we don’t see the clues around us trying to get our attention. Recognizing your life theme is often subtle, but every once in awhile your theme may slap you upside the head to get your attention as a way to guide you to become who you are to become and do what you are suppose to do with your life. Much like a movie, or a play on stage or Broadway, we all have a character that we play and our character represents our authentic self. It represents our life role and the truth of ourselves.

I will give examples of life themes in just a second and will share my theme with you, but first I want you to answer these two questions as best as you can.

What are the common experiences and situations in your life that often repeat?

What experiences do you have that seem to share and support an overarching thought or idea and validate a course of action for your life?

“Life themes are repeatable, recognizable experiences communicating to you who you really are and what you are to do with your life.” – Anthony L. Fisher

A life theme is the idea or motivation that drives you throughout your life. It is the answer that you are always “searching” for. The answer to the question of “Why Am I Here”? In a nutshell, it is your search for the “Meaning of Life”.

Don’t be surprised or alarmed if you don’t recognize your life theme. Recognizing your life theme is a process and it’s going to be different for everyone. For me, recognizing my life theme came from a strong desire to “know”. I was enamored with finding an answer. I was seeking it out. If you’re like me, you seek to desire the meaning of your life and you inquire about it and put significant time researching, studying, testing and praying to find the answers.

Knowing your life theme can provide you with significant insight as to who you are, why you react the way you do to certain situations or why you even do particular things. Once you know what your life theme is, it’s much easier to work on attaining your goals and do the work you love to do and were meant to do.

Finding and recognizing your life theme is like you finding a hidden treasure. Your life theme guards you from pursuing activities and putting resources into areas that go contrary to what truly satisfies your soul and supports your efforts. Your life theme also guides you to seek opportunities to confidently move forward in areas that support your theme and truly satisfies your soul.

I’m a lover of books and movies. I read about 20 books a year and watch countless movies a year. Let’s use books and movies as our example on how finding your life theme works. Fiction books and movies are great to use as examples.

As you read your book you will want to identify the moral or theme of the story. What was the hero character (also known as the main character) trying to figure-out? What is the problem he/she is having? What are they trying to solve? Were they trying to figure out their purpose? How to do something? How to overcome their fears or live with courage? Let’s take the movie Lion King for example. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqQ2mQV5b0w

Symba (son), didn’t know who he truly was. He didn’t have clarity regarding his identity. He was afraid of stepping into Mufasa’s (his fathers) footsteps as King because he was fearful of his past, intimidated of the responsibilities of kingship and didn’t have the courage to face his demons and internal fears in order to be a great king. However, through time and often repeated circumstances, Nala (the lioness), Rafiki (the baboon) Timon (the meerkat), Pumbaa (the warthog) and Zazu (the hornbill) tried to show Symba that he was the rightful ruler of the kingdom. Symba received many clues pointing to his destiny throughout his childhood and young adult life and was guided by friends, supernatural appointments and experiences guiding him into his authentic rightfully owned position of purpose.

What about your life? Have you been trying to figure out who you are consciously or unconsciously? Are you beginning to listen and see the patterns of your life trying to guide you to your vocation and destiny?

As a young kid and throughout my 20’s, I’ve always prayed and asked God “Why am I here? What is my purpose and the role am I to play in the grand orchestra of humanity?” Through time, God began to reveal to me (through various life experiences) who I am and these experiences are the foundation of who I am today and what I do today.

My overall life themes are leadership, communications and coaching. What am I always trying to achieve? Naturally, I’m trying to achieve a lesson learned in order to create a successful and life-changing result in my life and in the lives of others. Leadership and coaching go hand-in-hand to me and communication is the vehicle that I have been blessed with to connect with people.

I was able to recognize my life theme by observing (through time) what I do, how I do it and how I tend to react to people and situations. For example, if I’m reading a book, I tend to highlight or underline in abundance areas that really resonate with me. Highlighting or underlining is my way to pinpoint what I need to review again so I can apply it to my life and in-turn help others apply it to their life. I’ve also recognized that I seem to always take a leadership approach to a situation and look at life through coachable opportunities and moments. I then ask myself how can I best express myself from what I’ve learned by applying my experience and expertise using various forms of communication. This is typically done through speaking, teaching, developing online courses, creating websites and applying graphic design techniques to my creative work. Often when I speak and coach, I’m speaking from an angle of how-to, improvement and problem solving.

Finding your life theme is different than finding your purpose. A life theme is overarching. A purpose can be and often is a little more specific. However, occasionally they can share similar expressions.

I hope what I shared with you today provides you a roadmap of how to recognize your life theme. If so, send me an email.